Spring motor assemblage for clockwork mechanisms



1953 M, VAN VALKENBURGH 2,662,612

SPRING MOTOR ASSEMBLAGE FOR CLOCKWORK MECHANISMS Filed Oct. 18, 1951 3nventor MERR/TT l/A/v l/ALKE/VBURGH (Itfornegs Patented Dec. 15, 1953 s ams MOTOR AS EMBLAQE Foe CLQCK-WQBK MECHANISM S Merritt Van velk nburgh, Upper Nyaclg, N. Y.,

assignor to M. H. 'RhodesIn'corporated, Hartford! Conli a cerporation of Delaware An lic tiqn Qofieher 18, 5 1, Serial N9, 25 ,207

Em nv t on re ates to manuall w-Qa l ckw rk an t me mechanisms a 'mc l 's e cia l y to im ro em nt in e pewt r means nd dr ii ssem la s jor t ea e d o he spr n ri l-$ me han ms- It is the a m of the invention to provide a sim le, compa t and onem -l new r a sq lase a l lqckw rk mean 1 whi Wi n only imr o th o erat n r ha e te is ias a e mechanism 'but will reduce the overall manufact rin os -.the me hanism- Another object of the invention is to provide aclo wo ls m ch n sm w th a sw m t riv w i r ui e .11 mor spa e than nvent on l s i mot r et Wei h ma h Wa e st t a greater amount of energy than willconyentional spring motors utilized in installations having the am s a imita ns- Anqther object of th invention is to proyide a cloc k mechan sm w h a r mo or driye assemblage twhich diminishes the possibility of vbreakage due to j arring, etc, whichiyirill withan a eat amoun of nea e d-h usage with t los n an o its p ti man i tics and which will operate .efiiciently'iinder'ate rmosphe eqnq t n re n' the f l iei t fi c ndmaeheikcondifi fi dre a fiect on entifcna rclo stru tian and -tem r I on- ,i ion h h aus br ak inlain e ena sprin mot r p i ie s Itlis a further object {of the present invention to proV ide a smmgmm .co r strnction for clockor m ha sm hav th ore e n l ha 9- s s a dk lii hiifia an i uqte p ine opensiv e -rna'terials" and which may be easily 7 economicaflyifahricated and assembled as fa unit and inlthe,cloghwork -mechanism.

t r'.obie .w 1be n a Phi i ns and in part -pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

ri' r h o ac o n ly nsi ts in 91i eetures of construction, combination of elements landarrangementflof parts which will he exempli- Qinthe construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will heindicatedin the appended claims.

lath r-d aw n s:

Fig. 1 is a. front elevational iew of a clock- -work, assenib1a ge which incorporates a spring motor fconstrncted in accordance with the presentinllention;

Fig. 2 is'an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; vFig. 3 isatransyersesectional view taken along the.line,,3 3 of Fig. 2; ,-Fig. 4 is a transversesectionalview taken along the linejj l of: 2 and in the front and rear'frame plates Big. 5 is a perspective view of the main spring utilized in the construction of the clockwork's'.

F01 Purposes of exemplific'ation, the present iny' ntion is shown as incorporated in the constructiojri of a timer" l1 By timer is m eanta aeyi ce ntilizing afclockwork niechanisrnto measure a preselected time interval. Since the present in" on concerns only the clockwork mochamjof the timer, the elements utilized for indi eating the time and for signalling the end one measured interval'are not'shown or discussed her "However; it should be understood'that in respect to these elements the timer mecha- In shown in the'dr awings utilizes conventional A. we k wn t ea "The cloolgworks incorporated in the present Construction are mounted on spaced apart front and rearjframeplates" H and'lZl' The clockworlgsjinclndeslan 'arbor [3 which i journaled and which is on ratiyely connected to a main spring or power g 1 51' as will appear in detail hereinafter. "In the particular embodiment shownfthe arbor I 3 is provided with diametrically opposed flats jiffiWadjac'ent its front end to receive a conventionalftim er setting knob or pointer which" can he @n anu ally rotated to a set position 'whereby the spring 14 is energized. "Upon'r'elease of the setting knob and arbor; the spring operates to mechanically return'the setting knob and arbor to the original fat rest or starting position. The arhprj3by mean'sof a'frict'ion clutch I 5 is drivingly connected to'fa gear l6 which isincIuded in a conyentionalti'metrain indicated generally hyflthe reference numeral 11. If desired; the clutch [5' may be of the"one-way variety,'in yolyingthe use of a ratchet. The time train comprises a plurality of intermeshed gearwheels and pinions"'whi ch'are supported onstaffs journaled in the frame' plates vII and ,I2. 'Thetime train drivesian'escape wheel I8, and aretarding deviceor clutter 19 is disposed adjacent the escape wheelie for oscillatory movement so asgto "engagetheescape wheel and thereby retard ,or impede-the operation of the gear train to pre- Venttoo' rapid dissipation of the energy stored hy theimain' spring l4 wh'erebythe arbor and setting knob are returned to initial position in 'atime controlled manner. '7 :In accordance with conventionalpractice the rear end ,.ofithe arbor l3 may extend throiigh the-rear frame plate l2 so as to receive timing disks or other well knownelements utilized in signal apparatus orci fcuit making or breaking apparatus which isto be excited at 'thelcqm pletion'of ameasuredtimeinterval. v

In accordance with the present invention, the main spring or power spring I4 comprises a wire of circular cross section such as piano wire which is formed into multi-coil volute configuration having a large end coil and a small end coil 2!. The large end coil terminates in a radially inwardly extending ear 22 and the small end coil terminates in a radially outwardly extending car 23 which are arranged to secure the spring within an encasement comprising a generally cup-shaped housing 24 and a cover 25.

As is best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the spring housing 24 has a circular end wall 26 provided with a central opening 27 to receive the front end portion of the arbor 13 so that the end wall 23 may be disposed adjacent the rear surface of the front frame plate II. The wall 26 has a rearwardly extending generally cylindrical skirt 28 to complete the cup-shaped configuration of the housing, and the front plate I! has a plurality of rearwardly extending ears 29 which engage the skirt 28 to locate and position the housing 24. The end wall of the housing has a forwardly extending ear 3i! which engages in any one of the frame openings 3! from which an ear 29 is struck so as to prevent rotation of the spring housing relative to the frame. The torque on the spring Hi can be adjusted by selecting the opening 3| which receives the ear 3B.

The housing wall 26 is also provided with a pair of rearwardly extending ears 32 and 33 which are circumferentially spaced from each other and which are radially inwardly spaced from the skirt 28. The cars 32 and 33 provide means for securing the large end of the volute spring I4 within the housing, the spring ear or appendage 22 engaging the ear 32 with the largest coil 20- disposed between the skirt 28 and the ears 32 and 33, as shown in Fig. 4.

The cover member is generally circular and of dish-like configuration and is provided with a central opening 36 which describes the central zonal portion of a circle or disk. The opening 36 is provided with such configuration so that the cover can be slidably fitted over arbor portion to abut against the enlarged central portion 31 of the arbor. It will be noted that arbor portion 35 is of reduced diameter and has diametrically opposed flats 38 insertable within the opening. Arbor shoulder 39 is thus provided to engage the rear surface of the cover 25 so that in the assembled relation shown in Fig. 2 the cover will turn with the arbor and will be held within the confines of the housing skirt 28 so as to retain the spring in axially compressed condition within the housing. The cover is also provided with a generally L-shaped opening 40 (Fig. 3) and a forwardly extending ear 4| so as to receive and engage the ear or appendage 23 formed on the small end of the volute spring I4. The smallest coil 2! is thus positioned about the enlarged section of the arbor and rotation of the arbor will efiect rotation of the main spring since the main spring is secured to the cover which, in turn, is secured to the arbor for rotation therewith. Accordingly then, if the arbor is rotated clockwise as shown in Fig. 2, the main spring will be wound within the spring housing so as to store energy to return the setting knob to the starting position as influenced by the time train and the retarding mechanism.

It will be noted with reference to Fig. 2 that 'in the axially compressed condition of the spring within the housing the coils adjacent the large end of the spring are disposed in a semi-stacked relation so as to define a hill 45 and it will also be noted that the coils adjacent the hill 45 are thrust forwardly so as to define a valley 46. A second hill 41 is formed radially inwardly of the valley 45 and an innermost valley 4-8 is formed in the compressed spring and the coils adjacent the small end of the spring are in stacked relation extending toward the cover 25. It has been discovered that the volute piano wire spring utilized in the present construction may be more compactly compressed than can any main springs known, and it is believed that the characteristic compressibility of the spring arises due to the aforedescribed formation of the hills and valleys in the compressed condition. Such hill and valley configuration will arise only in the use of a volute spring having circular cross section whereby the adjacent coils of the spring are permitted to slide past or overlap one another to thu form the above mentioned hills and valleys. As a result of the increased compressibility obtained in the aforedescribed assemblage, a larger spring can be used in the space available for assembling conventional main springs and consequently a greater amount of energy may be stored.

The sliding relation of the coils of the spring provides greater efiiciency as compared to conventional springs in that the sliding friction between adjacent coils is materially reduced. The friction is reduced to such an extent that in most installations it is unnecessary to lubricate the coils whereas the conventional flat spiral main spring must be well lubricated between the coils in order to obtain uniformity of torque delivery in operation.

It has also been found that the spring utilized in the present power assemblage is less susceptible to breakage due to atmospheric and temperature conditions than are conventional springs. This advantage arises because of the circular cross-sectional configuration of the spring whereby the greatest strength results from the material available for fabricating the spring. The increased strength also diminishes the likelihood of breakage due to jarring over winding and due to electrostatic and magnetic changes accompanying changes in atmospheric conditions. In addition, the circular piano wire spring is relatively inexpensive as compared with the fiat spiral spring conventionally used in clockwork mechanisms and it has been found that the spring motor assemblage including the housing and cover can be fabricated and assembled with greater economy whereby the cost of manufacturing clockwork mechanism is materially reduced.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. Power means for a time movement comprising a volute wire coil spring having a generally circular cross section with adjacent turns partially overlapping each other, a pair of closure members disposed on opposite ends of said spring arranged to axially compress said spring into a generally circular body having radially spaced annular hills and annular valleys, means on one of said closure members for securing one end of the spring against movement, and means secured to the other end of said spring for winding the same whereby energy is stored within the spring.

2. In a spring driven mechanism of the type having a frame and a manually settable arbor journaled in the frame and arranged to be 1116- chanically returned from a set position to an initial position under control of the mechanism, improved power means comprising an axially compressed volute coil spring fabricated from wire having a generally circular cross section with adjacent turns partially overlapping and touching each other to form radially spaced annular hills and annular valleys, said spring being disposed around the arbor with the one end thereof secured to the frame and the other end of said spring being connected to the arbor whereby manual rotation of the arbor in one direction will wind the spring and condition the same to drive the mechanism and thereby rotate the arbor in the opposite direction.

3. In a spring driven mechanism of the type having a frame and a manually settable arbor journaled in the frame and arranged to be mechanically returned from a set position to an initial position under control of the mechanism, an improved power assemblage comprisin a generally cup-shaped spring housing encircling the spring and having its bottom wall secured to the frame, an axially compressed volute coil spring fabricated from wire having a generally circular cross section, said spring encircling the arbor and being disposed within said housing with the one end secured thereto, and the other end of said spring being connected to the arbor whereby manual rotation of the arbor in one direction will wind the spring and condition the same to drive the mechanism and thereby rotate the arbor in the opposite direction.

4. In a clockwork mechanism of the type having a frame and a manually settable arbor journaled in the frame and arranged to be mechanically returned from a set position to an initial position under control of the mechanism, an improved power assemblage comprising a generally cup-shaped spring housing secured to the frame and encircling the arbor, an axially compressed volute coil spring fabricated from wire having a generally cylinder cross section, said spring being disposed Within said housing and encircling the arbor, means securing the end of said spring adjacent the largest coil to the bottom wall of the housing, a cover member for said housing secured to the arbor for rotation therewith, and the small end coil of said spring being attached to said cover whereby manual rotation of the arbor in one direction will win-:1 the spring and condition the same to drive the mechanism and thereby rotate the arbor in the opposite direction.

5. In a clockwork mechanism of the type having a pair of spaced frame plates and a manually settable arbor journaled in the frame plates and arranged to be mechanically returned from a set position to an initial position under control of the mechanism, an improved power assemblage comprising a generally cup-shaped spring housing, means on one of said frame plates for receiving said housing with its bottom wall adjacent said frame plate and with its peripheral wall encircling the arbor, means on said housing engaging said one frame plate to prevent movement of the housing relative thereto, an axially compressed volute piano wire coil spring disposed within said housing and encircling the arbor, means on the large end of said coil spring engaging the bottom wall of the housing and securing the spring against movement relative thereto, a generally circular cover for said housing concentrically secured to said arbor, and means interconnecting the smallest coil of said spring and said cover whereby manual rotation of the arbor in one direction will wind the spring and condition the same to drive the mechanism and thereby rotate the arbor in the opposite direction.

MERRITT VAN VALKENBURGH.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,408,365 Larson Feb. 28, 1922 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 367,200 Germany Jan. 18, 1923 626,739 Germany Mar. 2, 1936 

